A Wonderful Moment
by Berrie Salamander
Summary: Hermione decides on what the happiest moment of her life is - the day her life changed forever. Written for the Happiest Moment in Their Life Challenge on HPFC. Canon-compliant.


**This story was written for the happiest moment in a character's life challenge over on HPFC, and I got Hermione Granger. **

A Wonderful Moment

I always knew I was different, that I was… well, odd. I could do things that my parents, the kids at school, everyone else I knew, could never dream of. Maybe that's a slight exaggeration. Point is, nobody, including myself, could ever explain some of things I did. There was that time when Barry Reynolds had been bullying me because of my teeth. Lots of kids bullied me for that, but he was particularly vicious about it. He really made my cry, and I was only nine. But, the next day, Barry took the day of school because he'd caught chicken pox. Again. I thought it had been coincidence. I thought all those odd things had been chance. Until the day my life changed forever.

The summer holidays had started, and I thought I could never be happier. I was leaving behind the miseries of primary school, and I was destined for the local comprehensive, along with most people at my school, including Mirry, who was really my only friend. I was definitely looking forward to a change of scenery, a fresh start, and new challenges. I was even considering getting a complete makeover for my first day, to make a good impression. Then, during the summer holidays – the day I got my new school uniform, in fact – my life changed forever.

My parents were in the living room, and I was slowly walking down the stairs, ready to show them my new uniform. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror in the hallway as I approached the living room door. I stopped by the mirror and sighed. I knew, even then, that the uniform didn't look right. A dark green blazer, a dark green and silver tie, and a grey pleated skirt? It just didn't suit me. Green and silver has never looked right on me.

" Hermione? Are you ready to show us your uniform?" came my mother's voice.

" Yes, I'm ready," I sighed.

I began to push the door open when the doorbell rang.

" I'll get it," I told me parents, and rushed to the door.

I'd never seen anyone like the person standing on the doorstep. She looked quite strict, her black hair was drawn back in a tight bun, and she was wearing odd emerald green clothes.

" Hello," said Professor McGonagall briskly. " Are you Miss Hermione Granger?"

I said nothing, merely nodded. I was taken a back by her appearance.

" Excellent," she said. " Are your parents in?"

" Mum! Dad!" I called, and they came out into the hallway.

" Who's at the door Hermione?" her father asked.

" I am Professor McGonagall," she replied. " Deputy head and teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Let me in and we'll discuss this properly."

I exchanged a nervous glance with my parents. Hogwarts School of _Witchcraft _and _Wizardry_? Magic didn't exist. This woman was mad.

" I can prove everything to you," said Professor McGonagall, as though she could read our minds. " Just let me come inside."

Reluctantly, my parents did. They showed her into the living room, and she sat on the armchair by the window.

" Can you – explain – what you said earlier?" said my mother after a long pause.

" Certainly. I am a teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I am here to inform a Miss Hermione Granger that she has a place at our school, starting in September."

For a while, none of us spoke. I couldn't believe it. I'd never heard of Hogwarts, and magic was a medium that existed only in stories – I was so sure of this. Yet I really wanted to believe Professor McGonagall.

" Magic… doesn't exist…" I said quietly.

She raised an eyebrow.

" Really? You think so?" she asked me, before transforming into a cat.

My mother screamed; my father nearly fell off the sofa. I gasped. The cat glanced over at my parents, then became Professor McGonagall again.

" When can I do that?" I breathed.

" You will learn all kinds of magic at Hogwarts," she replied, not really answering my question. " Here is your letter."

I took the letter from her with trembling hands, and opened it. My mother was still white in the face, and my father had gotten back on the sofa. I scanned the first sheet of paper, which said pretty much what Professor McGonagall had told me. The second sheet contained a list of things I needed, including – I honestly thought it was all a dream when I read it – a wand and a cauldron.

" Where do I get all this stuff?"

" Diagon Alley, in London," she said. " I will take you there tomorrow with two other Muggle-borns I have to see today. Muggle-borns," she added, seeing the look of confusion on my face. " Are people with magical ability born to people who have no magic."

" I see," I said, and I looked down at my uniform for the comprehensive, which I wouldn't need anymore. My face went hot as I thought about going to a school to learn magic. I was so excited. I turned to my parents.

" You are letting me go to this school, aren't you?" I asked them.

" Um, well…" began my mother. She looked a little unsure. " Yes, I suppose so. It just seems extraordinary to believe that you can do magic!"

" I always wondered why I could do things no one else could," I said thoughtfully. " The other kids at school used to tease me, because I was weird. But when I go to Hogwarts, it won't be like that, will it Professor? Because everyone there will be like me."

Professor McGonagall stood up, and looked down at me, evidently in deep thought.

" No," she said finally. " I don't suppose they will tease you. I shall see you three tomorrow. Good day."

We saw her out the door. She walked down the garden path, I blinked, and she was gone. I looked up at my parents.

" Well that was… unexpected," said my mother.

" Are you all right Hermione?" my father added. " You look a little red in the face."

" Do I?" I said, only half listening. I wanted to read through the miraculous piece of paper again, just to make sure that it was all real. I couldn't wait to get a wand, a cauldron, my uniform, all the books.

" I suppose I better get rid of this uniform." I said brightly to my parents. " Bit of a waste of money, but never mind. I'm going to a magic school!"

My parents smiled weakly, and I bounded up the stairs.

-XXX-

" Seriously? Honestly?" Ron is looking at me incredulously. " _That_ was the best moment of your life? It wasn't getting eleven O., it wasn't Harry beating Voldemort, it wasn't your first kiss with me, it wasn't me proposing to you, it wasn't even our wedding day – it wasn't even discovering you were pregnant?" He turns his attention to the bulge that has become my stomach.

" I loved all those moments Ron," I told him earnestly. " But none of that would have happened if it hadn't been for that day when I got my letter. You probably won't understand how free I felt – how could you, you've known magic all your life. I, on the other hand, never knew that what I could do was magic. That was the day when the world began finally making sense. It may be slightly cheesy, but it's true."

" All right," he says after a while. " I must respect your choice."

" It was better than yours," I smirk. " You said the best moment of your life was getting the Niffler that got the most gold in that Care of Magical Creatures class I missed."

" Yeah, well I lied," he grins. " I probably shouldn't have brought it up. Let's just forget about it."

I nod, but I can't really. It's hard to choose the best moment of my life, there's been so many. Maybe I should have said when Viktor Krum asked me out to the Yule Ball, just to annoy Ron. Well, that was a missed opportunity.

**What do you think? Reviews are welcomed :)**


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